TalkTalk: YouView to launch in September

A month after YouView appointed Kelkoo marketing chief Steve Conway as an interim head of marketing, partner TalkTalk has revealed that the connected TV service will launch in September.

There has been lots of speculation over the launch date of YouView, after the service from partners including the BBC, ITV and BT was delayed in 2010/2011 amid rumours of technical difficulties.

TalkTalk revealed YouView’s intentions as it announced its yearly results for the year to the end of March 2012. The broadband provider recorded total revenue of £1.687 billion, £78 million down on the previous year. However, TalkTalk enjoyed a 122% year on year increase in statutory profit before tax of £127 million. The results showed a payment of £4 million in relation to its continued investment in YouView.

“Development within the YouView team is progressing well and within TalkTalk we are making good progress on provisioning capability, as well as operational and CRM readiness to support our TV service within our existing operational structures,” the company said.

A launch date of early 2012 was discussed following the initial delay, with May being mentioned as a realistic deadline. The thinking was that the service would want to be available before the Olympics to maximise potential sales and marketing opportunities.

However, Enders analyst Ian Maude told the FT last month that YouView would not be up and running in time for the Olympics. A YouView spokesman said the joint venture has been “deliberately very quiet for the last few months” in order to concentrate on the launch. An alpha trial is expected to be rolled out to hundreds of people before a beta trial involving thousands of users.

Read the full RapidTVNews article here.